


Teddy Bears' Picnic

by starspangledsprocket



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Kid Fic, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Sickfic, teddy bear onesies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 11:15:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3065822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starspangledsprocket/pseuds/starspangledsprocket
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter is sick. With nothing else to do, he and his Daddy take a trip down to Aunt Pepper's office to pay her a visit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teddy Bears' Picnic

**Author's Note:**

> Blame flytoinfinityx for this. She gives me all the best ideas :)

Everyone was staring at them. It could have been because Tony was actually awake and at work in the morning; it could also have been because little Peter was with him, holding his hand and carrying a plate of freshly baked cookies.

It was probably because they were both dressed in teddy bear onesies.

Peter had taken the day off kindergarten because he had a fever. Tony, _abhorring_ the fact that his baby was sick, had taken the day off while Steve was at SHIELD so he could take care of him. The little guy had just looked so sad and rosy-cheeked, and Tony had felt so helpless, so he found himself giving in to his son's every whim. His whim, as it turned out, was to bake cookies and take a trip to Aunt Pepper's office in their jammies.

Eh. Tony had done weirder things in his life.

“You doing okay there, squirt?” he asked, peering down at Peter from under his hood.

“Uh-huh,” Peter nodded, letting go of Tony's hand for a moment so he could rub at his bloodshot eyes.

“How about I get us some juice boxes when we get to Aunt Pepper's office, huh?” he suggested, putting his arm around Peter's bony shoulders and drawing him into his side as a particularly smarmy looking worker walked past. “Or I could run back upstairs and get you some milk?”

“Juice,” Peter decided, leaning into Tony's warmth. It made walking a little awkward, but Tony didn't care.

“Okay, honey,” Tony nodded, eyeing a vending machine that they passed for a moment to make sure there was juice in it. “All right, baby, here we are. Knock on the door and – oh.”

Peering through the glass in Pepper's office door, he realised she was in a meeting with someone. Peter, too little to peer through the window, didn't see anything of the sort, and before Tony could stop him, knocked on the door.

Pepper looked up with a harried expression on her face – the expression she only ever wore when she was being yelled at, and had to show restraint for the sake of the company – and Tony grimaced and shrugged helplessly as he opened the door.

“\- just isn't enough money being put into our department, Miss Potts, and it's unacceptable -”

“Cookies, Aunt Pepper!” Peter called, completely ignoring the importance of the meeting he seemed to be walking in on. “We made 'em special.”

“Oh, Peter, honey,” she sighed, immediately pushing her chair back so Peter could toddle over for a hug. “Oh, baby, you're burning up.”

“Hi, yeah, sorry,” Tony greeted. “He's sick, and you know how I get.”

“You panic and smother him,” she hummed, pressing her hand to Peter's forehead. “And give in to his every request.”

“Uh, excuse me?” the man sat opposite Pepper cut in, and incredulous expression on his face. “Miss Potts, we were in the middle of a meeting. I'm sure these two can wait while we finish up -”

Before he could finish his sentence, Peter put his plate of cookies on Pepper's desk and then let out a mighty roar. Dressed in his teddy bear onesie and with his teeth bared, Tony thought Peter was the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

“I think that's your cue to leave, buddy,” he advised the man. “We'll make sure to take your request into consideration, yada yada yada. There's really no reasoning with the kid when he's sick, and anyone who tries has to go through me first.”

Looking thoroughly mollified, the man shook his head and then got to his feet. He was mumbling under his breath as he left, but Tony couldn't really say he cared all that much. He wasn't due at work today; Peter was, and would always be, his number one priority.

“No cookies for meanies!” Peter yelled after the man as he closed the door, and then coughed into his little, pudgy fist.

“Poor baby,” Pepper murmured, scooping him up to sit on her lap. She sent Tony a truly unimpressed look, but it softened considerably as Peter continued to cough. “Slow down, honey. Take some deep breaths.”

“I'll go grab some juice boxes from the vending machine,” Tony told her. “Can I borrow a couple of dollars?”

“Not a sentence I thought I'd ever hear you say,” Pepper hummed, rubbing Peter's back as she reached out to grab her purse.

“My onesie doesn't exactly have pockets,” he replied, grabbing a couple of dollar bills. “I'll pay you back.”

“Please, Tony. I think I can afford to buy my favourite nephew a juice box,” she tutted, and Tony was grinning as he darted out of her office to the vending machine.

He got some strange looks from his employees as he put money into the machine, but he just threw a wave or a nod their way and they carried on. Deciding on a carton of apple juice and a small bottle of orange juice, he grabbed his purchases and change and headed back to Pepper's office.

“Aren't you glad I insisted on juice in the vending machines now -?”

He paused in the doorway and smiled. Pepper had scooted her chair back to her desk and had little Peter on her lap. His coughing fit had calmed down, though he looked red-faced and exhausted because of it as he watched her tap away at her computer.

“All right, let's get this party started,” Tony announced, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. “Pete, apple or orange juice?”

“Apple,” Peter croaked, holding out his hands for the bottle.

“Ooh, hang on!” Pepper called, reaching into a drawer in her desk. “Your Daddy thought it would be funny to give me silly straws for Christmas last year. Would you like one?”

Peter nodded his head, and Tony grinned as he sat down at the opposite side of the desk.

“Hey, grab a couple,” he suggested, handing Peter the apple juice. “We can share this orange juice.”

Pepper threw a couple at him and then went about piercing Peter's juice with another. The little boy immediately started to drink as soon as it was ready, taking big gulps to sooth his throat. Meanwhile, Tony opened the orange juice and dropped two straws into it, and then pulled the plate of cookies towards them from the edge of the table.

“So...” he hummed, handing a cookie to Peter and then taking one for himself. “Sorry we crashed your meeting.”

“It's... not the worst thing that could have happened to me today,” Pepper replied with a little shrug. “The only reason I agreed to meet with Wilson is because he wouldn't stop emailing me, complaining.”

“Are the science department really doing that badly?” he asked, cramming half a cookie into his mouth. They were _good,_ if he did say so himself.

“No,” Pepper shook her head. “He's just mad that the company won't pay a research grant for his finishing school paper.”

“Ah,” Tony nodded.

“He was mean,” Peter murmured, head lolling back against Pepper's chest as he nibbled on his cookie. “He yelled at Aunt Pepper.”

“He's not really mean, honey,” Pepper sighed. “Just desperate, I guess.”

“No,” Peter shook his head, the teddy bear ears on his hood wiggling adorably. “No-one can be mean t'you, Aunt Pepper. S'not allowed.”

“Oh, really?” Tony asked, smiling softly. “Why's that, baby boy?”

“'Cos Aunt Pepper's the best,” Peter replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Tony decided not to comment on the way Pepper grinned and buried her face in the back of Peter's fuzzy hood.

“So,” he cleared his throat and took a sip of juice. “What do you think of the cookies, huh? We did a pretty good job, right, Petey?”

“Uh-huh,” Peter nodded, taking another bite of his cookie and then offering the rest up to Pepper. For a moment it looked like she was going to decline (because hey, the kid _was_ sick), but then she leaned forwards and took a bite anyway.

“Mmmm,” she hummed, kissing Peter's rosy cheek. “Delicious. Thank you, honey.”

“Y'welcome,” Peter smiled shyly.

“I tried to get him down for a nap, sleep off the fever,” Tony explained, “but he insisted we take a trip down here.”

“Well, I am cool Aunt Pepper,” she shrugged. “And not to toot my own horn, but I give pretty darn good hugs.”

Peter sighed, humming in agreement, and Tony laughed. “What about my cuddles, buddy? Aren't I enough?”

Peter shrugged and settled further into Pepper's embrace, much to her obvious delight. Tony shook his head, but couldn't find it in himself to even be hurt. Peter just looked so small and cute, all snuggled up in his onesie, that all Tony wanted to do was make sure he was happy.

“Hey,” Pepper murmured, brushing Peter's sweaty, wavy hair away from his face. “Why don't we call Uncle Rhodey, huh? We can video chat.”

“Yeah!” Peter called excitedly, and then started to cough again.

Taking pity on him, Tony grabbed Peter's juice box and held the straw out to him. Peter drank from it greedily, gasping for air, and then settled again with a tired sigh.

“Only a short call to Uncle Rhodey, okay?” Tony frowned. “We should get you back upstairs for a nap before Papa gets home from work, huh, baby?”

Peter pouted, but didn't whine, which proved just how crappy the little guy must have been feeling. Tony reached out to cup his warm cheek while Pepper got Skype up on her computer.

It was really telling that Peter had asked to come see her when he obviously wasn't feeling well; Peter was an affectionate kid as it was, but he got downright clingy when he was sick. Tony joked about it, sure, but Pepper really did give great hugs, second only to Steve. With his Papa away at work, Tony could see why Peter would want to be with his Aunt Pepper.

“Hi, Uncle Rhodey!” Pepper grinned as Rhodey's face appeared on screen. “I've got a sick teddy bear here who wants to speak to you.”

Tony reclined back in his chair, sighing contentedly as he watched his little family interact. Ten years ago, he would never have believed he could have this, but now? Now, he couldn't imagine his life any other way. 

 


End file.
